Jessie Vargas was 8 years aged erstwhile helium watched a documentary astir Mexican fable Julio Cesar Chavez, 1 of his era’s top boxers.
If boxing helped Chavez enactment his household amid his three-division title glory, Vargas thought it could for Vargas, too.
That it would and that it did.
“That’s erstwhile I decided this is it and I ne'er swayed from it,” Vargas, 37, said this week. “I ne'er deterred. I stayed with the plan. There were a batch of ups and downs. A batch of trials and tribulations, but knowing that my household would payment from everything made maine instrumentality with it. Made privation to support pushing. Made maine privation to springiness more.”
Billed successful the ringing arsenic “The Pride of Las Vegas,” Vargas mimicked his puerility muse, boxing his mode to wealth, a satellite rubric — and besides the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. The erstwhile WBO welterweight champion awaits enshrinement Saturday nighttime astatine the Hall of Fame’s yearly induction dinner, held this twelvemonth astatine The Orleans & Hotel and Casino to commemorates its classes of 2025 and 2026.
Forged successful Summerlin and North Las Vegas, Vargas boxed 14 years professionally — warring 17 times successful his beloved location state.
“It’s a existent grant successful 1 of the biggest ways possible,” Vargas relayed Thursday afternoon. “ … It each connects. My career, my life. Everything is successful Las Vegas. The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame is successful Las Vegas. So, it each correlates with what my vocation has been.”
With Chavez arsenic his muse and his father’s support, Vargas (29-4-2, 11 knockouts) favored boxing implicit different squad sports for its one-on-one format, inherent with lessons. He watched the documentary astir Chavez during his archetypal week grooming astatine a boxing gym. Nevada Partners — past managed by erstwhile referee Richard Steele — is wherever helium started his education.
Gyms astir Las Vegas fostered his maturation arsenic helium developed nether precocious famed trainer Roger Mayweather, turning pro successful 2008 with a first-round stoppage triumph successful Primm. A twelvemonth later, Vargas debut astatine MGM Grand Garden connected the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s objective triumph implicit Juan Manuel Marquez.
He was disconnected and fighting.
A fixture connected salient undercards, Vargas won a secondary inferior welterweight rubric — beating Khabib Allakhverdiev successful 2014 astatine MGM Grand Garden unanimously. A nonaccomplishment astatine welterweight to Timothy Bradley for the interim WBO welterweight rubric acceptable up his career-defining achievement: a stoppage triumph implicit Sadam Ali for the vacant WBO welterweight crown that led to a bout astatine Thomas & Mack Center with Manny Pacquiao.
“Finally, I showed everyone that I was honorable erstwhile I said I was going to go a satellite champion,” Vargas said, recalling his welterweight rubric triumph (as an underdog) arsenic the proudest accomplishment successful his career. “I had the talent. I had the attributes. I had everything to go a champion.”
And besides a Nevada Boxing Hall of Famer.
“I deliberation I represented (Las Vegas) decently and that’s what I’m truly arrogant of arsenic well,” Vargas said. “I correspond Las Vegas, letting radical cognize there’s large things that travel retired of Las Vegas arsenic well.”
Contact Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected X.
Other SNHOF inductees
Class of 2025: Laura Serrano, Antonio Tarver, Jorge Paez, Mikey Garcia, Paulie Ayala, Ricky Hatton, Brad Goodman
Class of 2026: Vargas, Gennady Golovkin, Raul Marquez, Marcos Maidana, Gerry Cooney, Richard Slone
English (US)·